Bosporus University Protests Police Violence on Campus

212 faculty members and lecturers of the renowned Bosporus University in Istanbul signed a common statement to express their protest against a recent police intervention on campus. According to the statement, police forces used violence against students in the course of a campus visit of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and five of his ministers on 5 November.

The university staff announced that the present Riot Forces, the Prime Minister's bodyguards and plainclothes police officers had shown an "attitude that disregarded limits and the law" on that day. They furthermore declared that the intervention oppressed the university's autonomy and that freedom of expression and fundamental democratic rights had been defied.

The joint statement read that the university was virtually made to 'surrender' to the various official and plainclothes police forces that had been brought to campus. Streets and squares of the university were blocked for students and faculty members. Students who wanted to express their criticism of the government with banners and slogans were being harassed. Blockades were set up and the police intervened with tear gas against the students, the statement said.

The Riot Forces entered some of the buildings and several rooms and made the students leave the building. The faculty members announced, "We are lucky that the students were able to save the traditions of civil protest without resorting to any violence against this disproportionate and exaggerated police force and violence. We see this as a merit on which our students should be congratulated. Thanks to the mature attitude of our students a major incident could be prevented".

"Our universities deep-rooted traditions, principles and its academic honour were violated on that day. We are very sorry about what happened. We are carrying responsibility. We condemn the related officials from the police and the government and call them to do what is necessary to fulfil their responsibility".

212 signatures of faculty members and lecturers

The signatories are Ahmet Erhan Aksoylu, Ahmet Ersoy, Ahu Ersözlü, Alaz Pesen, Ali Kerem Saysel, Ali Kulez, Ali Tamer Ünal, Ali Tataroğlu, Ali Taylan Cemgil, Alp Eden, Alpar Sevgen, Anestis Vasilakeris, Arzu Öztürkmen, Aslı Göksel, Aslı Özyar, Aslı Sencer Erdem, Aslı Tarkan, Aslı Tolun, Ata Akın, Aybek Korugan, Aydan Gülerce, Aydın Pesen, Ayfer Bartu Candan, Ayfer Hortaçsu, Aylin Alkaç Kutlukan, Aylin Ünaldı, Aylin Vartaryan, Ayşe Buğra, Ayşe Caner, Ayşe Mumcu, Ayşecan Boduroğlu, Ayşegün Soysal, Ayşen Candaş, Bahar Güner, Balkız Öztürk, Barış Büyükokutan, Begüm Ece Yıldız, Begüm Özkaynak, Belkıs Halfon, Berna Kılınç, Berna Yazıcı, Betül Kırdar, Betül Tanbay, Bige Kolukısa İnelmen, Bilge Ataca, Biray Kolluoğlu, Burcu Yakut-Cakar, Burçay Erus, Can Candan, Caner Taşkın, Cem Ersoy, Cem Say, Cengiz Kırlı, Cengizhan Öztürk, Ceren Özselçuk, Cevza Sevgen, Ceyda Arslan Kechriotis, Cüneyt Argun Genç, Çiğdem Atalay, Çiğdem Dalay, Çiğdem Kafesçioğlu, Çiğdem Taban, Daryo Mizrahi, Deniz Albayrak-Kaymak, Deniz Selman, Derin Terzioğlu, Devrim Güven, Didem İkizoğlu, Dilek Ardaç, Dilek Çınar, Dilek Demirci, Dilek Ünalan, Duygu Köksal, Duygu Salman Öztürk, Duygu Şimşek Özdinç, Ebru Mugaloğlu, Edhem Eldem, Elif Alakavuk, Elif Özkırımlı, Elif Ünlü, Emine Erktin, Engin Ader, Erdal Şafak, Erol Köroğlu, Ersan Demiralp, Eser Çaktı, Eser Taylan, Esra Mungan, Fatih Ecevit, Fatma Ang, Fatma B. Yılmaz, Fatma Dilek Yücel, Fatma Gök, Ferhunde Özbay, Ferit Öztürk, Fikret Adaman, Gözde Ünal, Gül Sosay, Gülcan Erçetin, Günizi Kartal, Hadi Özbal, Hakan Yaşarcan, Halim Kara, Hamdi Erkunt, Hamide Koz, Hande Tekdemir, Harika Sağlıcak, Hasan Bedir, Hülya Bulut, I.Ercan Alp, Işıl Bozma, İbrahim Emre Köse, İlhan İnan, İlhan Or, İsmail Kaplan, Karanfil Soyhun, Kemal Kirişci, Kıvanç İnelmen, Kıvanç Karaman, Koray Çalışkan, Koray Durak, Kuban Altınel, Lale Babaoğlu, Levent Yıldıran, M. Ufuk Çağlayan, Mahmut Ekşioğlu, Markus Pöchtrager, Mehmet Çamurdan, Mehtap Işık, Meltem Ahıska, Meltem Gürle, Meltem Toksöz, Mine Eder, Mine Göl-Güven, Mine Nakipoğlu, Muhittin Mungan, Murat Akan, Murat Baç, Murat Gülsoy, Murat Koyuncu, Müfide Pekin, Müge Taşkın, Münire Bozdemir, Nadir Özbek, Nejla Osseiran, Nermin Abadan-Unat, Neş'e Bilgin, Nevra Necipoğlu, Nihal Ercan, Nihan Nugay, Nilgün Işık, Niyazi Türkeli, Noémi Lévy Aksu, Nur Gürani Arslan, Nuri Ersoy, Nüket Esen, Nükhet Sirman, Oktay Demircan, Olcay Akyıldız, Osman Nuri Darcan, Oya Pancaroğlu, Özlem Beyarslan, Özlem Öğüt, Özlem Öz, Perran Akan, Pınar Demirciü, Pınar Yolum, Raşit Bilgin, Refik Güllü, Reşit Canbeyli, Rıfat Okçabol, Sakine Çil, Selcan Kaynak, Selim Deringil, Sema Öğünlü, Sema Sakarya, Senem Yıldız, Serdar Altok, Serdar Soyöz, Serra Müderrisoğlu, Shayn McCallum, Sibel Tatar, Sinem Yılmaz, Sumru Özsoy, Şadiye Ağım, Şehnaz Tahir Gürçağlar, Şemsa Özar, Taner Bilgiç, Tınaz Ekim, Tonguç Rador, Tuna Kuyucu, Tunga Güngör, Turgut Nugay, Tülay Gençtürk Demircioğlu, Uğur Ersoy, Umut Aydın, Ünal Zenginobuz, Vangelis Kechriotis, Yaman Barlas, Yasemin Kuyucaklı Ellison, Yıldız Silier, Yıldız Yıldırım, Yücel Terzibaşoğlu, Z.Hande Sart, Zafer Yenal, Zeynep Ata, Zeynep Ergun, Zeynep Gambetti, Zeynep Kadirbeyoğlu, Zeynep Sabuncu, Zeynep Uysal, Zühre Aksoy. (EÖ/VK)